Okay. To thine own self be true? Please elaborate.
Hi everybody! Sorry for being sorta flakey with the random posts and not replying to all my comments and what-not. I'm still slowly working towards being super-enthusiastic about this season of Spn. This last episode helped a lot.
LOOK! I even have some things to say about it. Meta-y, music-y things!
Not surprisingly, Edlund delivered a great episode this week. It was great to learn more about Benny, and see him and Dean interacting some more. One scene that's standing out for a lot of fans is the fight scene in Purgatory in which we hear Benny whistling In the Hall of the Mountain King. Guy Bee, the director has apparently tweeted that this was a nod to the film "M" by Fritz Lang, a German film from the 30's starring Peter Lorre as a child killer who whistles the tune whenever he's in the process of luring a child to their death.
Obviously, this parallel isn't reflecting too well on poor Benny. Some fans are saying it might be a sign of things to come. A sign that Benny is a killer, and will kill again. That Dean is wrong to trust him.
I’m going to be terribly disappointed if they take Benny the route of Ruby. I don't think we have to necessarily interpret this reference in this way. One can still appreciate the reference on a deeper thematic level if you consider the original source, Peer Gynt, which is basically a play about a kinda losery guy who kidnaps a nervous bride on her wedding day, gets drunk with some milkmaids, hits his head and meets a bunch of trolls, and wanders the world being kind of an ass. In The Hall of the Mountain King plays in act II, which Wikipedia has, in part this to tell us about it:
"Crucial for the plot and understanding of the play is the question asked by the troll king: What is the difference between troll and man?
The answer given by the Old Man of the Mountain is: “Out there, where sky shines, humans say: ‘To thyself be true.’ In here, trolls say: ‘Be true to yourself and to hell with the world.’” Egoism is a typical trait of the trolls in this play. From then on, Peer uses this as his motto, always proclaiming that he is himself, whatever that is. "
The inescapable aspects of our own nature are indeed themes that appear in Fritz Lang’s “M” as well, which is likely why he chose to use this piece of music as the killer’s leitmotif. He claims he can’t help himself, that he’s powerless to control his urges to murder.
Does that mean Ben Edlund, the writer of 8.05 is implying that Benny will be incapable of controlling his urges to kill as well? Personally, I think he’s more interested in the dilemma than the outcome, just as Henrik Ibsen was with Peer Gynt. With the philosophical pains it takes a person to try and figure out, over the course of their life, who they are, what parts of them they should stay true to, and what parts of them they should struggle to change.
In Peer Gynt, the trolls are egotistical. They think they’re hot shit, basically, and so to be true to themselves makes perfect sense. Vampires, in the Supernatural universe seem to have a pretty similar attitude, for the most part. Why would they fight their “true nature” when they’re quite content with it anyways?
Benny’s situation is more complex. He does fights his true nature. He doubts himself and his worth. He asks Dean why he bothered to save him. He protected Dean in Purgatory, for obvious reasons, but he protected Cas as well.
The theme of identity, of what it means to be true to one’s self or to fight one’s nature, to fight the demons inside you, real or metaphorical, is one that Supernatural has never let go of. It’s great to have a character like Benny close to Dean, a “monster” struggling to figure out how to be true to himself, and what that really means. Not only is it something both Sam and Dean are faced with this season as well, but it also allows that grey area between good and evil to be explored on a much more intimate level.
"(Peer) then meets one of the most interesting characters, the Bøyg - a creature who has no real description. Asked the question “Who are you?” The Bøyg answers, “Myself”. In time, Peer also takes the Bøyg’s important saying as a motto: “Go around.” The rest of his life, he “beats around the bush” instead of facing himself or the truth."
Considering Peer Gynt’s habit of avoiding facing himself and his past, we are left to wonder if it’s Dean or Sam who have the same problem. Is Dean avoiding his issues by throwing himself into hunting? Is Sam denying his nature by insisting on quitting hunting for good? I think it’s probably a bit of both.
(Also interesting to note, is that the in the source fairytale “Per Gynt”, Per was actually a hunter who traveled the countryside saving milkmaids from trolls. Or something. )
(Also, Also. I’m not sure of the year Benny was killed and send to Purgatory, but Im betting it was after Peer Gynt came out and BEFORE “M”.)